Leather-measuring machine



Jan. 21, 1930'. R. J. M FALL 1,744,236

I LEATHER MEASURING MACHINE Original Filed Nov 16, 1925 METER J] Patented Jan. 21,1939

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROBERT J. MGFALL, F LYONHURST, VIRGINIA LEATHER-MEASURING MACHINE Application filed November 16, 1923, Serial No. 675,218. Renewed June 3, 1929.

This invention relates to machines for Fig. 3 is a detail section on the line 3-3, measuring fiat articles or materials of irregu- Fig. 2. lar outline, such as hides, skins, leather, and The hides or other articles to be measured the like, and particularly to machines of this are fed over a table 10 by means of a bed roll 5 character of the type wherein a hide or the 11 mounted on a shaft 12, journalled in suitlike, when passed through the machine, is able end frame members 13. Said bed roll theoretically divided into a plurality of is suitably driven from any convenient source imaginary strips of equal width, the length of power, as by a belt 14 which passes about of the several strips simultaneously measured, a pulley 15 on the shaft 12. Cooperating 10 and the lengths (and consequently the areas) with the bed roll 11 to insure the necessary of all of said strips cumulated to determine traction between the latter and the material the total areaof the hide. to be measured, is a series of pressure or trac- The invention has for its object the'protion disks 16 supported by a shaft 17 which vision of a novel and simplified, but accurate, extends across the machine above the bed roll machine of this character comprising imsubstantially parallel to the shaft 12 and is proved means for feeding the material to be suitably supported at its ends by the end measured through the machine, said feeding frame members 13. The shaft 17 is of ellipmeans having combined therewith contact tical or otherwise flattened cross section of mechanism in the form of a series of contact greater horizontal than vertical diameter.

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members actuated respectively by the passage The traction disks 16 are formed with cenof the material, in accordance with the numtral circular openings 18 of a diameter at ber and length of the severalimaginary strips least equal to, and preferably slightly greater into which the latter is divided, together with than, the major diameter of the shaft 17. simple and effective cumulating mechanism Between the several traction disks 16, and be 5 controlled by said contact mechanism, said tween the endmost disks of the series and cumulating mechanism being preferably frame members 13 are spacing disks 19 of operated by fluid pressure, whose flow to a smaller diameter than said traction disks, suitable meter is controlled by the several said spacing disks having central openings contact members respectively. shaped substantially to fitthe shaft 17 where- The foregoing and other objects of the inby said spacing disks are held fast on said vention, together with means whereby the shaft against rotation. The traction disks same may be carried into effect, will best be 16, however, are loose on the shaft, being free understood from the following description of to rotate thereon and being also permitted one form or embodiment thereof illustrated a slight vertical movement, whereby said in the accompanying drawings. It will be disks are severally permitted to rest by gravunderstood, however, that the particular conity upon the material and to follow theprofile struction described and shown has been thereof, while acting to hold the same in chosen for illustrative purposes merely, and close engagement with the bed or feeding that the invention, as defined by the claims roll.

O hereunto appended, may be otherwise prac- Between the traction disks 16, the bed roll tised without departing from the spirit and 11 is formed with a series of circumferential scope thereof. grooves 20 in which are positioned contact In said drawings: members 21 whose free forward ends 22 are Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic end elevation of located substantially in the plane of the axes the machine, partly in section on the line of the shafts 12 and 17, and are shaped to be 1-1, Fig. 2, and with the adjacentend frame engaged and. depressed by the material to be member removed. measured as the latter passes over said bed Fig. 2 is a plan view of one end of the ma roll and through the machine. The contact chine, the piping being broken away and members 21 comprise levers pivoted at 23 to the meter omitted. bracket arms 24 suitably supported, as upon a valve chest 25 which extends horizontally across the machine, preferably immediately at the rear of the bed roll, said valve chest forming a part of the cumulating mechanism. The rear end of each of the contact members 21 is received between a pair of collars 26 and 27 on a valve stem 28 which extends into the valve chest 25 through an opening 9 in the top wall of the latter. Beyond the valve stems 28, the rear ends of the contact members are connected by springs 30 with the valve chest, said springs tending normally to hold the free forward ends 22 of the contact members projected out of the grooves 20 into positions to be engaged by the leather or other material to be measured, the precise normal position of each contact member being determined by a stop screw 31 carried thereby and engaging the top of the valve chest.

The valve chest 25 is divided longitudinally by a vertical partition 32 and is further longitudinally divided at one'side-of said vertical partition by ahorizontal partition 3, thereby forming within said valve chest three longitudinal chambers 4, 5, and 6'. The inner ends of the valve stems 28 are angularly offset and extend through slots 7 in the partition 32 at theopposite side of which said stems are connected with sliding valves 8' which are held seated againstsaid partition by springs 2 connected with the valve stems. Each valve 8 cooperates with two ports 40 and 41 alternatively. It will be understood that the contact members 21 may be of any desired or required number, and that the valves 8, pairs of ports40 and 41, and valve stems 28 are equal respectively in number to the contact members.

Suitably geared to the shaft 12 of the bed roll 20, so as to be driven thereby, is a pump 42. Said pump may be of the rotary type, and", as herein shown, the shaft 43 thereof is connected by skew gears 44 with said shaft 12. Said pump isadapted to maintain a circulation of fluid, preferably oil or other liquid, through a closed fluid circuit including a pipe 45 communicating with the intake of the pump and a pipe 46 communicating with the discharge thereof. The pipe 46 communicates with the chamber 4 of the valve chest 25. Leading from the chamber 6 of said valve chest is a pipe 47 which leads to a meter 48 of a type suitable for measuring the flow of fluid, said meter constituting the cumulator of the machine. The discharge from the meter 48' is returned. to the pump through the pipe 45-, which isconnected with the chamber 5 of the valve chest 25 by a branch pipe 49' constituting a by-pass about the meter. If desired, the pipes 45 and 47 may be connected by another by-pass pipe 50 provided with a manually adjustable valve 51 by which the flow of fluid through the meter may be controlled in order to calibrate the latter.

When no leather is passing through the machine, the contact members 21 are normally held by the springs 30 in the position shown in Fig. 1, thereby holding all of the valves 8 in the position to open the ports 40 and close the ports 41, so that the flow of fluid from the pump to the meter is impeded or cut off, said fluid being returned to the pump through the by-pass 49. YVhen the end 22 of any contact member 21 is depressed by leather passing over the bed roll, the corresponding valve 8 will be shifted to close its port 40 and open its port 41, thereby dividing the flow of fluid from the pump and diverting a portion thereof through the port 41, chamber 6 and pipe 47 to the meter 48. The portion of the flow so diverted to the meter will depend upon the number of contact members actuated by the leather, consequently upon the width of the latter and the corresponding number of imaginary strips into which it is theoretically divided, while the period during which any portion of such flow is so diverted will depend upon the period of depression of the several contact members, and consequently upon the length of the respective strips, the flow of fluid from the pump being constant and proportional to the speed of travel of the leather, since said pump is geared to the bed roll 11 by which said leather is fed. The total portion of the flow from the pump which passes through the meter is therefore proportional to the area of the hide, so that, by properly calibrating the meter by means of the valve 51, the area of any hide, or the grand total of the areas of all hides passed through the machine, may be directly registered by said meter.

The arrangement of the piping shown in Fig. 1 is merely diagrammatic, it being understood that the precise disposal and arrangement of the pipes may be in accordance with convenience, the desired position of the meter, and the design of any particular machine.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, in combination, a bed member, a sh aft above said bed member, and a series of independent traction disks directly and loosely mounted on said shaft.

2. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, in combination, a bed member, a shaft above said bed member, and a series of independent traction disks directly and loosely mounted on said shaft and rotatable and vertically movable thereon.

3. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, in combination, a bed member, a shaft above said bed member, said shaft being of greater horizontal than vertical diam eter, and a series of traction disks independently mounted on said shaft, said disks havlng central openings of a diameter at least as great as the majordiameter of said shaft to receive the latter.

l. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, in combination, a bed member, a shaft above said bed member, a series .of independent traction disks directly and loosely mounted on said shaft, and spacing disks on said shaft between said traction disks.

5. In a machine for measuringleather and the like, in combination, a bed member, a shaft above said bed member, said shaft being of greater horizontal than vertical diameter, a series of traction disks independently mounted on said shaft, said disks having cenr tral openings of a diameter at least as great as the major diameter of said shaft to receive the latter, and spacing disks on said shaft between said traction disks and having openings shaped to fit said shaft.-

6. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, the combination with a feeding member, of a contact member located in said feeding member and actuated by the material fed by said feeding member, cumulating mechanism operated by the passage of an actuating medium therethrough, and means operated by said contact member for controlling the passage of said medium through said cumulating mechanism.

7. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, in combination, a bed roll having 011'- cumferential grooves, contact members located in said grooves, normally projecting upwardly therefrom, and depressed by the .1 material during its passage over said bed roll,

cumulating mechamsm, and devices operated by said contact members respectlvely for controlling said cumulating mechanlsm. 8. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, in combination, a bed roll hav ng circumferential grooves, means for rotatmg said roll to feed the material to be measured through the machine, contact members located in said grooves, normally projectmg upwardly therefrom, and depressed by the material during its passage over sa d bed roll, cumulating mechanism, and devices operated by said contact members respectively for controlling said cumulating mechanlsm.

9. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, in combination, measuring means, a cumulator, an actuator therefor, and means controlled by said measuring means for transmitting the power from said actuator to said cumulator or for diverting the same back to said actuator.

10. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, the combination with measuring mechanism, of fluid operated cumulating mechanism, and means controlled by said measuring mechanism for controlling the flow of fluid through said cumulating mechanism.

1'1. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, the combination with measuring mechanism, of hydraulic cumulating mechanism, and means controlledby said measuring mechanism for controlling the flow of liquid through said cumulating mechanism.

'12. I11 a machine for measuring leather and the like, in combination, a fluid operated cumulator, and means operated by passage of material to be measured through the machine for cont-rolling the passage of fluid through said cumulator.

13.. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, in combination, a fluid operated cumulator, and a series of valves independently operated by passage of material to be measured through the machine for controlling the passage of fluid to said cumulator.

14:. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, the combination with a fluid operated cumulator, of a series of contact members independently operated by passage of the material to be measured through the machine, and means operated by said contact members for controlling the passage of fluid to said cumulator.

15. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, the combination with a fluid operated cumulator, of a series of contact members independently operated by passage of the material to be measured through the machine, and a series of valves respectively operated by said contact members for controlling the passage of fluid to said cumulator.

16. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, the combination with a fluid operated cumulator, of means for inducing a flow of fluid through said cumulator at a rate proportional to the rate of passage of the material to bemeasured through the machine.

17. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, the combination with a fluid operated cumulator, of means for supplying a constant flow of fluid, and means controlled by the passage of the material to be measured through the machine for dividing said flow and diverting a variable portion thereof to said cumulator. i

18. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, incomb-ination, means for feeding material to be measured through the machine, means for supplying a flow of fluid at a rate proportional to the rate of movement of said feeding means, a fluid operated cumulator, and means controlled by the passage of said material through the machine for diverting a variable portion of said flow to said cumulator.

19. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, means for supplying a continuous flow of fluid, means controlled by the passage of the material to be measured through the machine for dividing said flow into relatively variable parts and means for measuring one of said parts.

20. In a machine for measuring leather and the like, in combination, a roll for feeding the 'materialto bemeasured', a pump operated by said roll; a meter, and means operated by the passage ofsaid material through: the machine for directing. the fluid from said pump to said meter or returning the same to said pump.

21. In a machine for measuring leather or the like, the combination with a constantly operating pump and a meter connected in a closed fluid circuit, of: a by-pass about said 10 meter, and means operated by passage of the material to be measured throughthe machine for controlling said by-pass.

22. In a machine for measuring leather or the like, the combination with a constantly 5 operating pump and a meter connected in a closed fluid circuit, of a by-pass about said meter, a series of independent valves for alternatively opening; said by-p'ass or the portion of said circuit leading to said meter, and 2a a series of contact members operated. by passage of the material to be measured through the machine for controlling said valves respectiyely;

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ROBERT J. MGFALL. 

